7.14.2010

The rumors of my death have been greatly exagerated.

Apologies for the lack of updates! I will try to catch up on all your posts ASAP. I went to wedding over the weekend in Birmingham, Alabama and was without internet. I did take a roll of film with my Holga, which I just sent away to be processed. The prints should be ready on Monday, so expect a bunch of Holga pictures on Tuesday! I sent away four rolls. I am so bad at remembering to get them processed in a timely manner.

Darcy asked how I did the braids in the romper picture, so I thought I'd let you guys know. It's ridiculously easy. Braid your hair into two braids (try to braid as far to the ends as you can) and then pull one up over the crown of your head. Judiciously bobby-pin/hair grip it in place. Repeat with the other braid. I usually try to tuck the ends of the braids under the opposite braid or sort of tuck them into my hair on the top of my head and pin them in place. Hairspray the heck out of it and voila: instant Scandinavian approved hair-do. You can definitely do it with hair shorter than mine as long as your braids reach your part when you pull them up onto the top of your head.

It's been really gross and hot here, so I have been lounging about in shorts and tees. I also acquired an exercise bike from a friend and have been riding it while watching TV which is good for me, but also makes me gross and sweaty and means I don't always feel psyched up post-workout to go get prettified.

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It's sort of hard to see, but if you click and look at the large size of that picture, you can see how jacked up my fingernails are right now. I mentioned in the romper post that I got them overlayed with an acrylic overlay because I have some insanely awful fingernails. I have to say: not impressed. The biogels I had before were much better, I think, in part, because they were more flexible and bent with my nail rather than shearing off. After three weeks with the gels on, I only had two messed up fingers, one of which was my own fault because I nicked the nail with a knife in the kitchen and therefor had to trim it back. With these acrylics, I have five messed up nails after two and a half weeks, the first of which occurred less than a week after I got them done. Do not want.

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Cardigan, Shorts, Top: Talbots, Shoes, Sunglasses: Nordstrom Brand

7.07.2010

ROCK, FLAG, & EAGLE

Blessed with a 3 day holiday weekend, I decided to go up to Sacramento and visit Britta. She warned me that she and her sister Andi liked to go "all-out" with their outfits for the 4th of July. I excitedly packed a frilly blue and white polka dot dress to pair with red accessories and my favorite white summer wedges.

What she didn't mention was that their July 4th style wasn't East Coast preppy so much as ROCK, FLAG, AND EAGLE:



ROCK, FLAG, AND EAGLE
L to R: Andi, Britta, Me

Naturally, we ditched the dresses for tanks, cutoffs, and red, white, and blue makeup. It was so tacky and incredibly fun.

Later that night, we headed to Britta's friend's house to set off fireworks. Growing up in Illinois, which outlaws all fireworks (besides sparklers!), I had never been able to set off fireworks legally before! We always had to illicitly cross the border into Wisconsin or Indiana to buy fireworks, then sneak back into Illinois via surface streets so we wouldn't be stopped by highway police.

It was exciting to set up a ladder in the middle of the street (!), sit on lawn chairs in the driveway, and create our own personal pyrotechnic show!

As always, click to enlarge...

fireworks

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fireworks

fireworks


The rest of our weekend was perfectly decadent. We shopped the Nordstrom presale, went to the spa, lounged on the couch watching Daria, Alias, and 30 Rock, and played Scrabble (I am currently the undefeated champ!). And of course, we ate. Britta's mom makes delicious food and it was so nice to have home-cooked meals and baked goods! Really, what could be better?

7.02.2010

Retro Romper

Apologies for the lack of posts this week. I have a draft due of my thesis next week and it's getting into crunch time. Which means a lot of unwashed hair, baggy & comfy shorts, and old tee shirts for me while I drink enough Diet Coke to fill a swimming pool. If anyone is interested, this is my tentative topic title: "Why Does the Devil Wear Prada?: Creating the Idea of Fashion Through Cinematic Representations of Fashion Journalism".

These pictures are from a few days ago when I went to get my nails did. And...took no pictures of them. I'll try to get one tomorrow. They're french with sparkly blue tips. I love them. And already cracked one, of course.

This is my second of two rompers. It is comfy, but obviously not like the other one which is like wearing a onesie tee-shirt. I love it's retro look, though. My sister took these for me really late in the evening, so apologies for the yellow-ness.

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Romper: H&M, Shoes: Arturo Chiang

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